It Couldn't Be WorseCould It?
by callofthewolfrunner
Summary: Percy gets used as a trap for the flock, and when they arrive at the School, they realize how much worse it really is. *Twist/Spolier Alerts* Sorry for bad summary, story's better than it sounds ( i hope) co-written with daughterofthehunt
1. Chapter 1

It couldn't be worse…could it?

Chapter One: Running

Percy's POV

Running…running so fast that left and right merged into one another. Whatever it is…chasing after me like a wolf out for blood. A pair of glowing blue eyes burned into my back, as the creature hunted me through the woods to no end. I don't know how long I've been running…hours? I don't know why I didn't turn and fight, but something compelled me to run. I ran into a clearing, and then I felt the sting of a needle in my arm. The last thing I remember seeing is a pair of rough, uneven wings.

3rd POV

_Am…am I dead?_

_Can anyone hear me?_

_Why…_

_Where am I…?_

_Hello…?_

Angel shook her head. _What was that? _ A thought filtered into her head, and she looked down in its' direction to see Erasers surrounding a crumpled figure.

"Hey, Max…" she said, coming to a stop.

"Yeah, sweetie?" Max said, turning to look at the seven-year-old.

"I just heard something strange…" With that, Fang stopped and came back to hover with Angel and Max.

"What did you hear?" Fang asked, in his usual dark manner.

"A voice from down there…and there's Erasers." Angel then swooped down towards the collapsed figure with a panicked Max yelling out behind her.

"ANGEL! What are you doing?" Max used her high-speed flying to leap away from the flock (who were racing after Angel) and tried to stop her before she could land. But, even so, she flew right into the trap, with the words _'I've got to save him' _pounding in her ears as she and the rest of her flock were sedated and taken away with the boy in the cage next to her.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys, it's me and DotH. Sorry for not updating sooner, I've been having computer issues and we haven't really had time to update. Thanks for following anyways, and for being patient with us :B **

**3- Meulin**

**Max's POV**

My eyes fluttered open to see the familiar darkness and bars of the School. I looked around, trying to sit upright and hitting her head on the top of the cage. 'How…why are we back here?' I thought. I shook my head, looked in the cage to the left, and then it all came rushing back to me. The Erasers, the strange boy… Angel? What happened to her?

_I'm here, Max. I'm okay. So are the others, as far as I can tell. _Her familiar voice drifted into my head, and I let out a sigh of relief. 'Where are you, sweetie? I'm glad we're all okay.'

_I'm two cages to your left. _

I looked across the boy's cage to see Angel sitting in her small crate. 'Angel,' I thought, 'why did you do that? Why did you fall into their trap? You knew what was going to happen! Tell me, please, enlighten me on the subject.'

_I don't know, Max! I heard that boy down there; he was so afraid and confused! I had to go help him, Max! Don't you understand?_

I sighed again. 'It's okay, Angel. We'll get through this, just like we always do. Now come on, can you wake Fang up?' I smiled as honestly as I could.

_Sure! _

A few moments later, Fang, who was in the cage to my right, stirred and tried to sit up, hitting his head just as I did.

"Fang!" I whispered. "Are you okay?" He raised his head and looked at her through the bars of his cage.

"Yeah, my head feels like it got hit with a hammer, but otherwise I'm fine. Is everyone else okay?" He said, shaking his head, trying to shake the remnants of the sedative away.

"Yeah, Angel says they are, same with that strange kid who they caught too. It's weird though, he looks normal. He seems human, no strange quirks or oddities." I said, glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. "What do you think?"

Fang shrugged, and peeked at the sleeping boy over my shoulder. "I don't know. I guess we just wait for-"Right then, the door opened, spilling light into the dark room. Three whitecoats walked in, the one in front being none other than Jeb himself.

Fang muttered something snidely under his breath. I snorted in response, alerting the whitecoats that we were awake. Jeb came forward alone and squatted in front of our cages. His breath smelled horrible.

Fang said, sitting back in the corner of his cage, "So looks like the big cheese finally showed up. Don't come too close- your lab rats might bite back." Jeb frowned at the comment, but I laughed harshly. I heard Angel giggle from the other side of the room. Jokingly, I turned to Fang, and fist bumped him through the bars.

Jeb smiled at me. "Max, if you haven't noticed, we have a guest. I won't explain him, or his story, but there is someone who would love to meet you."

I scoffed at him. "Tell them I'm in the bath. Or out at a parade. Something similarly stupid." Fang snorted and looked at me.

Jeb looked unimpressed. "You should be honored that he hasn't killed you yet. He's the new leader of the School."

3rd POV

As the sun rises over Camp Half-Blood, Annabeth climbed the hill to meet Chiron. When she reached the zenith, they shared a moment of silence, before he asked, "Did you find anything? Any sign of him?" Annabeth looked up at him with teary eyes and shook her head.

"I need to get more people. With others, we can spread out our search and hopefully find Percy."

Max's POV

As they pushed me out the door, I heard Angel yell something, then the two other whitecoats stopped, turned on their heels and dragged Angel out with us. I whispered, "Did you do that?" She nodded, and I smiled. She's such a trooper. They pushed us through hallways, and I could see into some of the rooms. There were different combinations of creature and human, most ending in horrible defects. I looked away from a small child with scales and awful spots on his skin. We finally turned to a hall with only one door. 'Time to meet the big cheese' I thought, and Angel held in a giggle. They pushed open the door, and left only me, Angel, and the mysterious stranger in the room.

"Sit down." His voice was strange…it almost made me want to sit down. It had a strange tone to it, almost…inhuman. Nonetheless I stayed standing.

I faced his chair, which was turned around cheesily, and said, "So you're the big cheese, huh?" I don't know why that joke was so funny, but it just…worked. The chair turned slowly, revealing a man who was wearing a pale shirt that showed a dark scar under one side. His hair was white, so white it looked bleached, and…his eyes…they were gold. Unnaturally gold. Not yellow, like a cat's, but gold. Like someone had poured molten bronze into his head and it pooled there. More still, it shimmered. It glowed like some distant force was keeping it burning. They…they almost felt…

…godly.

**A/N: Any guesses as to who the big cheese is? Please review and sorry again for not updating sooner! Any questions, comments, bunnies, or potatoes, please let us know! ;D **

**PS: We're making it a point to NOT take this long to update anymore.**

**-Cassidy & Meulin**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two

**A/N: We are so sorry for not updating sooner, I have had bad internet problems and my mom had a baby so I've been busy. We've also had a bit of writer's block in this chapter, so bear with us if it's bad. Please enjoy this chapter! 3 **

**-Aundraia (Cass) and Meulin**

_They…they almost felt…godly._

Percy's POV

When I opened my eyes, I could hardly see at all. The faint lines at the edge of a one-way mirror gave off the only light. Pushing myself up against the back of my…cage? _Why am I in a cage? _ My heart rate increased as I looked around, seeing the other cages and sleeping forms inside them. The other bodies looked dead, the soft light barely silhouetting them. My gaze flicked over to the cage to the right of mine to see a dark shadow in the corner of it. _Is that a person, or…? _My heart skipped a beat when it shifted, and I jumped slightly. I could see the light reflected in a pair of dark eyes that focused straight ahead in the direction of what must have been the door. When I moved, the dark eyes turned to me.

"Who are you?" I asked, my voice just above a whisper.

"I could ask you the same." His voice was low, and he didn't sound older than 16.

"Fine then, where are we?" I moved to that side of the cage, which didn't exactly take much effort. "Can you give me something to call you?"

His answer was short and to the point. "The name's Fang. We're at a lab, called the School."

"Fang, what is that, a codename or something? And you know," I said, turning away from the door, in his direction, "it's funny. I always did have a problem with school."

He turned to me, scoffing. "You have no idea. So who are you, then?" I could faintly see his face now. He had black hair and his eyes were darker than they looked previously. "Also no, that's actually my name."

I shrugged, curious about his name but not willing to push him about it. "My name is Percy."

Max 's POV

I stared at him. Those damned eyes; they were messing with my thoughts. I shook my head and looked back up at him.

"Hello, Max." He said.

"Why does _everyone_ here seem to know my name?" I spat, glaring at the man in the chair. "And who the hell are you, anyways?"

"Let's just say…I'm the man with all the power." He had a smile plastered onto his face. One of those 'too nice' smiles.

"Wow, thank you for the help, Captain Obvious." I leaned forward onto the desk, brown eyes meeting gold. My voice dropped to a cold whisper. "Now what the hell do you want with me and my flock?"

He chuckled a bit. "Oh, Max. Always so self-centered. The thing is, _I don't care about you. _You could die for all I care, as long as I get what I want." He leaned in close, intimidatingly so. "And I _always_ get what I want."

…_Max? _ Angel's small voice filtered into my head.

_Not now, Angel! _ I was right in the middle of this game of chicken, and no way in hell was I going to lose.

_Max, come on! Listen, we need to go!_

_For God's sake Angel, not now! _I turned my attention back towards him. "Sorry buddy, but you can't always get what you want. Maybe it was like that in your old horror story of a life, but you're dealing with _me _now."

_Max! I'm serious! We need to leave _now. _Max, please!_

_Angel, why? What is so wrong right now? _ She went silent for a moment. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. _Angel?_

_I can't read his thoughts, Max. _

Fang's POV

"Percy, huh? Well sorry you got dragged into this. Considering everything else that happens in our stupid, messed-up life, it was probably our fault anyways." The kid seemed okay enough. _Why would they capture him too? He's just some confused kid; he had nothing to do with this. _

Percy looked over at me. "You think this is bad, you should see _my _life." That surprised me a bit.

"What's so wrong with your situation that you think that this isn't so bad?" I raised an eyebrow, watching the cages around me and him to see if any of the others were awake.

"Oh no, I didn't say that this isn't bad, I've just dealt with worse. Let's just say I've been through hell and high water." He looked pleased with himself, as if he had just made a good inside joke.

I raised an eyebrow. I had no idea what was amusing about that, but you never know with inside jokes. "Where are you from? And, I know this may sound kind of personal, but what makes you different?" I came to the conclusion that the only reason the school would take him as well was because he was important, or something made him stand out.

Percy shifted in his cage, noticeably uncomfortable considering how much space there was. "I've just…" He sighed. "Look, I'm a demigod, okay? My dad is the god of the sea, and monsters are real. Simple enough?"

I gave him a skeptical look. "I think you may have been hit harder than you probably should have, but whatever you say."

He sighed again. "Just bear with me, and let's focus on getting out of here." He looked around his cage, trying to mess with the lock.

"There's no use, I mean we've been here before. Ig could probably pick it, but otherwise we're stuck here."

"Not on my watch." He pulled his…pen?...out of his back pocket, and clicked it. My eyes widened slightly when it flashed and expanded, becoming a sword. The blade gave off a strange light, and I could see more of him. He had hair as dark as mine, and his eyes were a bright sea-green that reflected the light of his sword…pen…thing. He was wearing a faded orange t-shirt with unreadable black words on it.

"What is that….actually, you know what? Nevermind. Later. Let's just get out of here; can you break the lock with it?" I said, looking between him and the sword.

He shrugged. "I'll give it a shot." He stabbed at lock somewhat unceremoniously and it busted open, clattering down onto the hard floor. He looked over at me. "Seems like it worked." He had a lopsided grin as he crawled out of the cage. I saw someone a few cages over stir and sit up. I saw a bit of strawberry-blonde hair, it was Iggy. Good, it looks like the rest of the flock are mostly okay.

"Ig, you okay?" I whispered loudly.

"Yeah, I'm alright. What about the others, are they okay? And what was the suspiciously loud clanging I heard?" He looked in my general direction.

"Look Iggy I'll explain later, but when we get your cage open I want you to take Nudge and Gazzy and run."

He furrowed his brows. "Who is we? And what about you? And Max, and Angel? We're not just going to leave you guys."

I ignored his questions and looked up at Percy. "Let me out, if you wouldn't mind. Him too, and the two cages between you guys."

Percy moved over and opened the lock on my cage, then Ig's and the others'. I shook a sedated Nudge and Gazzy awake, stretching my legs when I did so. Percy turned and looked at the group, then back at me. "I can probably get us all out, as long as we can run."

Nudge shook her head. "Fang, who is he again?"

"Nevermind that. We just need to go." I turned to Percy. "You guys go ahead. Get them out safe. I have to go and find Max and Angel."

Percy gave me a look. "I'll come with you. Let's get your friends out, and on the way you can tell me who the hell they are. I don't even really care at this point, but I like you. And if you need help, which you will, considering they locked us in _cages, _then I'll tag along. I do want to know who we're dealing with, at any rate."

I considered pushing him away, and going on my own, but I don't know who we're dealing with either and I wasn't going to deny help from a guy with some weird glowy sword-thing. "Fine, come along then. Ig, Gazzy, Nudge, come on. Whenever you get out, I want you to head for our hideout. We'll meet up with you as soon as we can." Gazzy just sort of stared at his sword, his mouth falling open a bit.

"…So…Cool…" Was all he said.

I headed towards the door, before kicking it down unceremoniously. "Ready to run?" Looking to my left, on the wall I could see a small map of the exits. I pointed down the hall. "Ig, take them and go down this hall. Turn left at the end of the hall, there will be an exit. We'll see you as soon as we can." I nodded at Percy, and ran off in the opposite direction.

3rd POV

Max slowly turned to look at her. "What did you just say?" She thought it and said it aloud, and seeing the intimidated look on her face Max knew she wasn't kidding. She looked back at him. His eyes, his impenetrable mind… "What are you…?"

"You're clever, Max, what do you think?" His voice was cold and intimidating.

Before she could respond, a polite knock on the door distracted her. It sounded a couple times before there was a loud noise and it was blown open. Percy ran inside, Fang just behind him.

"Fang!..." She recognized Percy as the kid from before. "Are you okay…?"

A look of utter shock and recognition were plastered onto his face. He looked into those terrifyingly familiar eyes and stood speechless for a moment. Fang tried to talk to him, but he didn't hear. His heart missed a beat, and his mind went silent except for one word. One name.

After a moment of heavy silence, he regained his words. "…Kronos?"

The man in the chair smirked a bit, his golden eyes dark with fury and amusement. "Hello there, Percy. Long time no see, hm?"


End file.
